Speaking in Code

Documentary film director Amy Grill has just completed a new film called Speaking in Code. It’s a documentary about the world of techno music that follows a series of characters over a few years. The film audience gets a cinema  vérité slice-of-life perspective of what it is to be a participant in the music industry. While Grill does not portray the typical electronic music fan’s experience – and could thus be charged as portraying techno’s elite – she does capture an authentic energy in her film. What really connects the music producers she profiles (Monolake, Tobias Thomas, Wighnomy Brothers), the music journalist DJ (Philip Sherburne), and the event promoter and music section editor (David Day) is their love for music.

With a background in broadcast, Grill is a Producer-in-Residence at Emerson College in Boston. At the same time, she had a very personal connection with the subculture and the musicians she portrays. She’s a long-time fan of electronic music and used to throw events in Boston with her ex-husband. She and her then-husband became characters in their own film. As a result of the film, Grill’s own life journey has changed immensely. Now she’s touring the new documentary film.

This video interview was done prior to a Speaking in Code screening in Toronto at the Royal Cinema in November 2009. For more information  about the film you can visit: www.speakingincode.com/